Making the Most of High School with CollegePlus — PART 6

Making the Most of High School with CollegePlus — PART 6

One of the greatest gifts of homeschooling is the freedom to customize your child's education.

Without formal testing, it is unreasonable to expect a teacher who is responsible for a large classroom of students to know with certainty whether those students are comprehending the material presented.

But in the intimacy of the homeschool environment, there are a variety of ways to make this assessment.

Teaching To The Test

There’s a cartoon that has made the rounds on the internet. In it, a human resources person sits behind a desk, interviewing an applicant.

The interviewer asks, “I see you did well in school, but what real life skills do you have?”

“Tests,” answers the applicant. “I can take tests.”

Though we might laugh at the cartoon, we recognize a real danger. Do we want to produce test takers or problem solvers?

Building Upon a Solid Foundation

We have done little testing in our homeschool. The curricula we have used and the resources we publish emphasize the importance of using discernment when processing new information.

In place of testing, we have done much writing about and discussing the subjects we study. In so doing, we have developed and strengthened both critical thinking and communication skills.

Yet as dual-enrollment students, it quickly became apparent that Roger and Ryan need to excel at test taking. Fortunately, because we already established a solid foundation of critical thinking, learning to take tests has not been difficult.

Tools of the Trade

In previous posts, we discussed benefits we enjoy with CollegePlus such as:

Another benefit offered by CollegePlus is TrailMarker, a flashcard application they designed to help students study for competency-based exams.

Prior to starting the CollegePlus program, Roger and Ryan used Quizlet to help them to successfully prepare for the Biology CLEP. But they both agree that TrailMarker is superior to Quizlet. It helps them structure study time so they’re sufficiently prepared for college-level testing.

A Time for Everything

The freedom we enjoy as homeschoolers has allowed us to cultivate a love of learning. We have been free to go deep into subjects that intrigue us. I am so grateful that we weren't forced to “teach to the test.”

But there is a time for everything, and it appears we have entered the (literal) season of testing. (smile)

In addition to earning credit by examination, Roger and Ryan have earned credit at home through Lumerit. We'll tell you more about those courses in our next post.